First to leave
by zman123
Summary: It's a hard fact in a hard world that even the nicest of people have their limits. An invisible time bomb of sorts that ticks down and down towards something truly terrible that no one can predict. For that person's loved one's, they realise too late what they stood to lose. Yet for some among them, the horrible pain hits even closer to home...
1. Present: Viva la Vida

**Chapter 1: Present. Viva La Vida**

 **Alright guys so this is my first story in a very long time since I've only recently overcome my writer's block. And also my English isn't that good so bear with me.  
So I think the Loud House is a really special show. I think the main character Lincoln is really a great guy, not like some of the other jerks other shows put as their main character's.  
That said, Lincoln's sisters... Well we'll get into that. **

Lola Loud, former pageant extraordinaire and uncontested beauty champion of the entirety of her city Royal woods, stood before the trophy case gazing at her gigantic troves of awards she had won over years and years of dedication to the very art of fashion.  
Even with ten siblings, each very charismatic in their own rights with their own set of talents which they also poured their very hearts and souls almost wholly into, her collection of glittering trophies, medal asnd fancy crowns made from actual carat silver and gold still dwarfed their puny stacks of trophies.  
Combined together the size of her ten sibling's stack of awards still fell just short of her own personal stash, devoted as they each were to their own so called "hobbies".

But compare any one sibling's trophy stack at a time to Lola's and it was like comparing a homeless starving beggar's cup of one pence coins to a billionaire tycoon's mountain of gold bars he would have if he sold his house, his possessions and on top of that his ten very beautiful children into slavery in addition to laying out the piles of wealth he already possessed in his nigh inexhaustible savings accounts.

One would simply laugh at the other Loud children and their feeble attempts to compare with Pageant Princess Lola Loud's uncontested fame and reputation as she made crowd after crowd of the screaming fans who watched her shows, almost weak on their knees each time she graced their sight with her very presence. She'd lost a few shows very early in her career, but the days of losing for Lola Loud were long since over and now no matter what the other envious competitors against her in their hatred and desire to see her lose once more, they always ended up having to brandish their fists in silent fury when Lola once again took the first place trophy and waved it before their reddened faces for all those who'd lost to her once again to see.

Until recently at least, she thought she'd never have to feel the sting of another defeat again. Never have to choke down thick and sticky tears as her rivals in fashion insulted her for her failings so that she'd spend the remainder of that day crying in her room, her appetite at mealtimes and her willingness to talk to even her twin who she shared the room with all but gone.  
Until recently.

How much longer before she could consider adding a second or even third place medal to that shining pile of trophies which as glittering and shiny as they remained even now seemed to become more and more pointless every time she passed it  
How long before she could even set foot into another pageant hall without shaking or trembling making a total fool out of herself before the judges and other contestants alike?

She didn't know the answer to any of those questions as she trudged wearily up the stairs to sit alone in her room.  
She tried her best not to cast even a glance at the small and worn closet door furthest down the upstairs corridor knowing that every second she spent looking in that direction brought the dam holding back her grief another step closer to collapsing.

Slumping onto her lonely bed still unable to shake away the sadness that had been slowly but surely making its way into every orifice in her now very weak and tired body, Lola did the one thing she knew still could bring her spirits up in this bleak time, if only momentarily.

Reaching into the cupboard where she kept what remained of the possessions she prized even more highly than her pageant trophies, Lola took out a plain black tape.  
A nondescript, undecorated square cheaply made music tape, almost no different in appearance from the many other tapes that eleven siblings with completely different tastes and habit in an almost always dysfunctional family might come to accumulate in seventeen long and drawn out years.

The one thing that made this one different and distinguished so that it could at no point ever be confused even if it were to be thrown into a pile with all the tapes in the house put together, was the messily scrawled label that Lola had written onto the otherwise plain and unmarked surface using pink crayon, which read "My favourite song" and beside the writing was drawn a pink shape in the crude likeness of a crown.

That song Lola first heard at yet another one of her beauty shows. One which she had somehow for once managed to persuade her entire family including much less prim or clean twin sister Lana to come with her to see, after of course a lot of prodding. Loud and grand music being played while the contests were on to make the entire process so much more conducive for the thousands of adoring fans who filled each theatre were the pageants took place was nothing special, but somehow to this day that one song stuck in the entire Loud family's mind so that Lola did not need to beg or threaten for the tape with just that song to be bought not long later.

Being that this was the first contest that included both boy and girl contestants and that Lola was at her very best and most confident that day made the anthem that began to soon began to echo the room all the more memorable. It truly did not matter what kind of snobbish rivals she faced since she Lola Loud was most attractive and perfect of them all.

Or at least that was how she once thought it to be as the beautiful sound of a violin and drums in perfect synchronisation began to ring from the radio that she placed the cassette into and she began to sing her favourite song.

The way her friendly older sister Luna recommended that the remaining members of the family who had not left the house never to be seen again cope with their grief in these tough times.

A song for generations, Lola silently remarked to herself as she easily found her starting pitch despite not being the greatest musician in the family.

 _"I used to rule the world. Seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the mornings I sleep alone. Sweep the streets I used to own."_

She turned her gaze to the bed beside the one she now sat upon and then out the window at the huge stack of rubbish that had accumulated in the now overflowing bin in the front yard.  
How she hated handling such slop, so unsightly and unsanitary.  
And when that was done there was still the floors to polish and the broken window which another sibling Lynn had shattered with a baseball to deal with.  
None of those tasks that a delicate flower such as herself should have had to deign to take part in.

 _"I used to roll the dice. Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes. Listen as the crowds would sing. Now the old king is dead, long live the king."_

Images of the three stern judges all quickly raising up a ten sign each from times long past flashed before the nearly crying seven-year old's vision, blurry as if she were seeing her memories on a buffering and barely working old television.  
And then came the even more unclear and distant memory of fellow pageant princesses and princes alike as they glared coldly at her with a venomous mixture of hatred and envy.

They hissed quietly at her like snakes as she edged smugly past them holding her trophy high for all the world to see.

She would grin coyly at the rival competitors who had failed to beat her yet again to remind them that it was the one and only Lola Loud who would have her place on history's great stage and not any of those losers who had the audacity to think themselves her equal.

How she wished she could at least apologize to the enemies she had made now. Not that an apology which fell on deaf ears would have done her much good.

 _"One minute I held the key. Next the walls were closed on me. And I discovered that my castles stand, upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand."_

Lola was glad none of her other siblings seemed to be home at this moment and time.  
On pretence of a headache and aching throat, her father had found the courtesy to let her stay away from the family stroll in the park that the other Loud family members decided would be good to bring back some hint of family togetherness.

From the way that even the resident sweetheart Leni looked back at her as one by one they left the house said more than words ever could about the selfish pig that even Lola herself now regarded herself as.

Threats which once made even her much older eighteen-year-old eldest sister Lori bend to just about her every whim now earned little more than a sharp and curt "No.". "No Lola. We're too busy to play with you right now" becoming as common a catchphrase from Lori's lips as "Literally." and "Not right now. Sorry." becoming another ear worm spoken by the usually chipper and very energetic Luan whose dialogue up until the incident not to be spoken about consisted of bad puns and jokes followed by the comedian's signature "Get it?" in a vapid attempt to cause laughter which never came. How Lola wished for another one of those poorly timed and unfunny jokes right now to ease this never-ending sorrow.

A downwardly reassessed allowance which her dad claimed was necessary in order to pay for the various repairs and renovations that would yet be needed for even a household with a smaller family, did little to raise her mood.

The almost divine sounds of drums crashing and the violin only loudened as the song neared its climax. The part that Lola even just seven years of age loved best. The part everyone in her family loved best too. For the first time that day, Lola's voice became the once strong and confident clamour it once was and she stood taller and straighter than she had in a long time. She could have sworn she saw crowds of ten thousand people maybe more gazing intently at her as the music along with her voice struck a crescendo.

 _"I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing. Roman cavalry choirs are singing.  
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield. My Missionaries in a foreign field."_

The true meaning of being a family. A realization she as the spoiled and conceited brat she now knew herself to be, realized far too late.  
To be a mirror that warned those you loved of their flaws and good qualities while being kind and supportive all the way.

A sword that sought to bring retribution to those who'd defy your loved ones of their hopes, dreams and future's that they were entitled to.

But most of all a shield that protected them against harm even if such a selfless act would not end well for yourself. The satisfaction one felt when one gave up their lost time to help a sibling finish their homework saving them from a harsh scolding from the teacher.  
The joy one received at assisting one's poetic friend in their poem only to learn that the entire poem was a poem their friend had written about them. A poem praising them for being such a great friend.  
The happiness one gained as they distracted a vicious herd of violent mob of bullies and got to see their beloved sister run free and unharmed, before feeling a brutal punch and passing into pitch darkness.

Such pleasures were treasures more valuable than the shiniest jewels any tiara could be encrusted with. Treasures worth enduring fates worse than death to acquire and obtain. For they were moments that made even the most miserable of existences worth living out.  
Things that Lola doubted she'd have the chance to savour ever again, even if by some stroke of luck the family struck the lucky numbers on the lottery tomorrow.  
That'd solve a lot of their problems. All their problems in fact except the one that really needed solving.

Brief and stuttered sobs began to trickle into the girl's until now strong and vibrant singing voice

 _"For some reason I can't explain. Once you go it was never,  
Never an honest word. And that was when I ruled the world."_

The time she lied about not being able to read so that she cost her family their one chance of what could have been an evening never to forget if they just won the reading competition with her help.

The time she exaggerated about all the horrible and atrocious acts she was capable of and more, if any of her family didn't do exactly as she wanted. Even her dad was frightened enough by her disgusting threats so that for a price easily comparable to highway robbery, he gave to her the Princess channel instead of the sports channel he'd probably been waiting a lifetime to have instead.  
The way he left the room that day in tears and shaking wasn't a pleasant memory.

Not that there was anything she could do about all that now with the last remnants of the family struggling to keep themselves from openly fighting almost daily. Like that other time none of them preferred to even mention about except this time much worse. Greatly and infinitely times worse.

So engrossed in the song was Lola that she didn't hear the front door open very gently as almost silent footsteps crossed the room downstairs.

 **So this here's the first chapter of a story which may or may not go on since my writer's block is still not quite cured and I've got difficult work I should be getting on with.  
I also don't feel I'm the best writer but I love the Loud House like it's my life and I try.  
So please do comment and try to take a stab at just what calamity befell the lovely Paradise known as "THE LOUD HOUSE" this time?  
I look forward to hearing your reviews and I thank you for reading.**

 **Until then have a good day.**


	2. Past: Knightmare

**Chapter 2: Past. Knightmare**

If there was but one thing that described Lola's identical twin that the pageant aficionado was begrudgingly forced to share a bedroom with, it was that they were virtually polar opposites in everything save their genes. And even then one could easily take them to be completely unrelated strangers at a first glance just from their appearances alone.

Aside from the bright blonde hair and almost glimmering crystal cyan eyes owned by both six year old preschoolers, it was difficult to find anything the two shared that would even remotely link them as even friends, let alone family.  
Their clothes, the way each styled their admittedly very similarly toned hair in very different ways and even in the way they walked and talked it took a very open minded observer to accept that these were indeed two siblings as closely related to one another in blood as was possible in the known world and that they did indeed share one room under one roof under one last name.

As much a unwashed and rustic beggar one seemed in comparison to her much more expensively and primly clad sibling.

It was a known fact that the family of two very thinly stretched parents with ten girls but just one boy were not just called the Loud family for no reason other than to sound fancy.  
The name was on just about everyone's lips throughout the entirety of the simple little cluster of civilisation known as Royal woods, Michigan.  
A few praised them in a loud and booming cheer.

And in the upstairs corridor at that very moment stood the group of eleven shouting and arguing about who was to use the one bathroom they were forced to contend with sharing right now first. The argument was increasingly violent and soon there was pushing and shoving all across the room as each sibling fought with all their will to make themselves heard.

Among those that fought and fought so that it was clear for a long time there would be no clear winner, one sibling with hair as pale as first light and an orange shirt as plain as a blank sheet silently slunk away, clutching his leg as he went in a final attempt to give himself a few more seconds before the inevitable finally came.

The boy whose name was Lincoln ran and ran for his room where he had long since prepared a bucket just for this kind of emergency. This was preferable by far to having a long and heated argument with his sisters, which would no doubt end with a long and drawn out fight and he could not stand that.

A slight frown graced the expression of one sister as she watched her brother go. Then she stepped back to let her younger twin use the bathroom first realizing she could indeed keep herself under control a bit longer if needed, as well as knowing what her twin was capable of doing when angered.

They had been in enough scuffles for one day.

And they still had to decide what it was they would spend their playtime later that afternoon doing.  
That was never a discussion that went smoothly between the two six-year-old twins of this household. Arguments were a common thing to see in a household so big, but it wasn't difficult to agree that even at that the twins were just unreasonably hostile to each other.

The day passed uneventfully enough. As uneventfully as a day in this barely functional family could pass anyway. At least no arguments and no activation of the much dread "Sister fight protocol" that just about never worked said Lincoln cathartically to himself as he settled himself as comfortably as he could to savour the momentary brief peace blessed upon this house this day.

With bated breath and shaking hands he cautiously edged himself onto his bed and with an even greater effort in which his teeth clattered all the while, he managed to pull out a comic which he slowly brought to his vision. One eye on the door leading to the cluttered closet he had to himself as his meagre share of space, he slowly began to silently read expecting the serenity that seemed a miracle all too good to be shattered at any moment. Being a large household never gave one much alone time as he often put it to his friends when they discussed their lives.  
One of his eyes were still glued to his bedroom door half an hour later when none of his sisters had come anywhere close to his room and he was about two thirds the way finished with his special edition comic which came twice as thick as the ones he usually read.

So unused was the incredibly confused white-haired boy to this uninterrupted reading session which he'd been hoping to get for a long time that he wasn't even sure whether to call this was a blessing or a curse.

The sheer normality of such a day meant that dinnertime, brushing of teeth and lights out descended upon the household as if time itself was set to some sort of fast forward mode Soon enough the one time of the day when the loud house managed not to live up to its namesake arrived with not even the slightest peep coming from any room.  
You could have even dropped a pin on the carpeted floor and heard it hitting the ground clear as a bell.

Even Lincoln who usually twitched and turned uneasily was resting soundly and still.

"Wake up" a quiet but incredibly desperate and frightened whisper from far away called, causing the white-haired comic book aficionado to jolt as his eyes snapped open so quickly his eyelids burned with agony. Years of being in a big family had deprived his sleeps of most of its former gravity

and though the voice was so small that the slightest breath of wind would have covered it up, there was no denying the urgency in whoever was now calling to him.  
Too scared and weary to think clearly yet, Lincoln silently managed to sit himself up as his mind gave word to the rest of his senses to be on high alert. He very nearly felt his heart leap from his chest.

"Lincoln. Please wake up" came the voice again no louder than before. Whichever one of his sisters was speaking to him if even it was one of them, was getting more and more terrified and hurt every second he sat here like a simpleton doing nothing.

Shaking off any vestiges of fear which had manifested over the last tense seconds and steadying his breaths, Lincoln threw his duvet from himself and quickly stood to his feet.  
Wiping cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve, he quietly but bravely marched for the door.

He almost slapped himself with deep regret at how great a coward he was for taking so long to react when he saw standing at the entrance of his tiny bedroom the bedraggled and gently shaking form of his younger sister Lana.  
Almost another Lola in terms of age but completely the opposite in all things else down to a gentleness Lana had in her that rivalled that of even the resident sweetheart Leni.  
That was something to be said since Leni's sixteen years of age more than doubled the twins six and that the twins spent most of their days in an endless quarrel seldom able to agree on anything without something of a fight which big brother Lincoln would then need to intervene once more.

"What's wrong" Lincoln managed to ask eventually breaking the silence that had returned since the girl's pleas of help had stopped at finally seeing her prayers answered by the big brother she knew she could always count on unconditionally.

But though the kindness in his soul shone vibrantly in the concerned and beautiful eyes he now saw his sister through, the deep seated terror in Lana's mind made her throat weak and for the next seconds she could but stare blankly back at Lincoln with about as much emotion as a statue.  
She tried and tried to force words from her mouth but to no avail. The terrible dream that had brought her leaping from her bed and running to her poor brother's room while rudely waking him up from the comfortable sleep someone as nice as him deserved had made her numb with fear.

Her brother was no Lisa Loud, child prodigy of four ready to give lectures to great minds in those big universities they had in the fancier part of town.  
But he was no fool.

Taking one last look at Lana so as to take in everything before he jumped to conclusions, he could see the sweat that had formed on the blonde girl's brow. He could hear the strained and shallow gasps emphasizing the difficulty his sister was having in breathing properly at this moment.  
But most of all even in the dim light of the night only illuminated by a slight glow of moon, Lincoln's careful eyes could not fail to deduce the dried tearstains that had left their nasty mark on Lana's pretty face.

"Did you have a nightmare again?" he asked in a quiet voice so as not to rouse the remaining sleepers of the house.  
Still unable to speak through her tightly sealed lips, Lana sadly nodded.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm really sorry. Let me help you." Said Lincoln as his younger sister gratefully walked into his room still silent with a mask of horror on her face. He didn't care that it was usually his older sister Lori who was better suited to dealing with nightmares or that Lana would usually turn to Lori for a problem like this.  
All that was on his mind was to bring back the happy and playful girl that he knew and loved despite her little flaws of liking to play in the mud and filth a little too much.

Leading his little sister into his room and beckoning her to sit down on his bed, he quickly rummaged through his shelves tossing aside several of his favourite Ace Savvy comics in the process.  
But eventually he found it. The one storybook from when he was very little which he had not yet opted to throw out. The entrancing tale that had lulled the much younger him to bed each night when he kicked, screamed or otherwise refused to go to bed like a good little infant ought to before he discovered Ace Savvy even existed.  
A story that even now he liked to give a good read to every now and again when Ace Savvy wasn't on any new adventures.  
A tale whose main character and him just happened to share names. A great coincidence that he never wrapped his head around.

The one thing he was sure could dull the pain of Lana's terrible nightmare even slightly.

"How about I read you a story? A good story always helps me get back to sleep when I'm down." He suggested as he gently put his hand on his little sister's shoulder to calm her down.

His sister was silent as she turned to face him in reply but the rolling of her eyes said everything.  
She wasn't that kind of girl.  
She wasn't into all that fluffy junk about fairies and Princesses or those silly magical kingdoms that didn't really exist and were just there for make believe,  
That was her twin sister Lola's saccharine shtick and not hers.  
He was not helping in the slightest and instead condescending her trying to treat her like a stereotype.

"But you'll like this one. I'm sure you will." He only said as he flipped to the first page of the gigantic thick book and began to read.

Lincoln spent the next half hour wistfully and excitedly narrating the story of how a young forester saved a beautiful and vibrant kingdom despite being a homeless mute who never spoke a word.

The young boy known only as "Link" was the first and only soul in the kingdom brave enough to take on the task of single-handedly beating back the evil armies regrouping under the banner of the terrible warlord of the east.  
The kingdom's completely incompetent guards who had grown fat and lazy over the years of peace the kingdom enjoyed before the mysterious general "Ganon" (more commonly known by the terrified people as simply "Death guy") returned to marshal his single-minded minions once more towards inflicting as much pain and suffering upon the populace of the peaceful Hyrule Kingdom.

A kingdom whose people had grown so unused to war over time that its army was too weak to do anything but look pretty in their glittery suits of armour.

So it was then that our hero Link was chosen to go and stop "Death guy" and to bring back the princess he decided he'd take with him just to show he was top dog around here now and that absolutely no one could stop him since the only person who could do anything against him was now locked in the tallest tower of his black marble palace all set to decay to bones and rags guaranteeing not just death, but a slow and painful death. He was called "Death guy" for a reason after all,

As Lincoln continued to read and read, his excited voice as loud as it could be without waking anyone else at this late hour up, great joy warmed in his chest as he saw the lifelessness in Lana's icy eyes begin to fade and her usual goofy and adorable smile begin to return.  
She still stayed silent but now it was so as not to interrupt the experience of a lifetime that her big brother was giving her. This was not one of Lola's boring princess stories which literally bored her to death to no end and made her look even deader than the resident mortician Lucy.

This was what she called a good and proper story and it would make one heck of a good time when she told it to Hops and her other animal friends.

The last worries she had about the nightmare which she really preferred not to talk about left her as her brother continued to read and read about how the so called "Link" hacked through the entirety of Ganon "Death guy's" gigantic army which had been optimally placed all over the country in preparation for just the occasion that some stupid little boy like him think to challenge their godlike master who saw Link coming long before the mute and filthy forest dweller even set out of the capital with no more to his name than a notched bastard sword whose iron was almost paper thin from years of use and disrepair to.

"Bastard sword" snickered Lana quietly to herself. "Funny name"

"Nothing could stop our hero as he made his way through the most dangerous places that we could only dream about only in our wildest nightmares." Narrated Lincoln, tired but determined to finish at least up to the next page seeing how his little sister loved the story and wasn't afraid anymore.  
Curdled cave, soggy swamp and then Phantom's paradise. These were just names of a few of those horrible places each somehow more terrifying than the last.

It was when Lincoln finished the page and looked upon his now soundly sleeping sister who was smiling heartily once more that he himself felt that the man happier than himself at this moment and at this time, did not live on earth.

His sisters might have all had their eccentricities and unusual quirks which sometimes he did or did not always agree with but he wouldn't have had them any other way.  
And if it meant never having a full night's rest or a day of quiet because he'd be spending his time helping them in any way he could as the bland and boring middle child of his home then so be it.  
Better to see the sweet and grateful smiles on his siblings faces by contributing what he could than to be labelled a complete pariah left all to himself.

Surviving in a big household was not impossible, said Lincoln to himself as he gave his sister a gentle pat before trying to make himself comfortable on the little space still left to himself on his tiny bed.  
Difficult yes, but not impossible.

It may well have been an odd combination of one boy and ten girls. But he really wouldn't have traded what he had for the world. Or so he thought as he lay quietly sleeping beside Lana, knowing that he didn't have long before the chaos of another day in the Loud house was on the rise.

"What a great hero that Link guy is." Murmured Lana almost silently as much better dreams took the place of terrible nightmares. "

 **So yeah. Here you go. Chapter 2, actually a prequel to chapter 1 if you look at the title.  
It took me forever to think of how exacly I was going to write this up being that this is the Loud house and that Lincoln doesn't exactly have It easy.  
But here it is.  
So nothing seems quite wrong just yet and everything still seems normal and happy for the time being.  
But for how long can such a family last?  
Find out next time.**

 **For now, thanks for reading and I wish you great people a pleasant day.**


	3. Past: The truth hurts

**Chapter 3: Past. The truth hurts.**

 **"Some men have this nice thing about them where they aren't looking for anything logical like money.**  
 **You can't bully them, you can't bribe them or reason with them to not do good things because well, they're just good people. Some men, just want to see the world prosper and make others happy even if it means they can't be happy themselves, because it's the right thing to do."**  
 **-Lucy Loud in her memoirs about her brother.**

Lana woke with a start the next day when she woke to find herself lying in the same bed as her older brother who was still soundly asleep, snoring quietly with his face buried into his pillow and clutching a book tightly in his shaking hands.

The memory of last night very slowly began to return to the six year old plumber as she gazed upon her sleeping brother's visage with newfound gratitude and admiration.  
None of her other siblings would have helped her out with something as silly and childish as those bad dreams she could not stop having from time to time. Not Lori with her sour attitude of thinking she was always right and anyone younger than her was always wrong. Not Lynn who couldn't even take losing a game well and once had the meanness to say it was her brother's fault that her team didn't win the competition he painstakingly went out of his way to attend just so Lynn could be happy and understand his love for her.

Not even Lucy who Lana thought to at least be a somewhat trustworthy confidant for her secrets and problems seeing as at least she wasn't anywhere near as selfish as her twin Lola and certainly would never tattle on her family for the sake of blackmail like Lola used to.  
Until last week when Lola found out the hard way that even the most harmless and gentle looking people in this messed up house had their manipulative and deceitful moments where they used poor brother Lincoln as a punching bag.

Lana didn't want to think about that. Suffice it to say that it involved a very strange comic book known as "Princess pony.", an Ace savvy conference that her brother would never get to enjoy despite his beyond heroic actions that day. And a several week-long-sentence where mum and dad grounded the only boy in the family up in his room and confiscated all his games and comics to make his punishment as strong as possible.

…

Lucy had been acting very strangely in the past week, the young handywoman of the house Lana had been thinking to herself. And that was one heck of a thing to be said since the dark-haired goth wasn't one to show much emotion at any time. The fact her eyes were hidden behind black hair that should have been cut long ago made that sentiment even more true.

But Lana had noticed despite the usual chaos that was usual for a family as big as hers that Lucy had been incredibly quiet each time the younger siblings met at their table to eat dinner together and that she had started leaving with almost nothing on her plate finished. The dark haired almost never showed herself anymore and even her roommate Lynn had become afraid of how deathly silent Lucy had become.

Lana couldn't take it anymore after Lucy decided to pass on game night, saying she was busy and didn't quite feel like a game. It could have been a perfectly understandable reaction had it not been for Lynn's promise some weeks ago to be a good and reasonable winner from that point onwards and not rub her victories in the nose of others ever again.

From then on, not one Loud would miss game night for anything.

And it was then that Lana decided that if no one else would notice the obvious without her brother's help, then it fell to her to do his job in her place.  
To get to the bottom of what was making Lucy so secretive and afraid, even if it killed her.  
No pun intended with Lucy being so into death and darkness themed things that it was her quirk.

Lincoln had been busy helping Lola prepare for her next big pageant all while trying to find the time to polish Lori's golf clubs for a week of non-stop extreme golf tournaments. And all that was in addition to his recent promise to assist Luan in her comedy shows which she had decided to start up to raise more money for the family. Poor guy really didn't have it easy, the messy plumber, Janitor and Concierge of the Loud family thought sadly to herself as she saw the tired way Lincoln staggered downstairs almost tripping as he went.

He needed a rest every once in a while, she thought to herself. And if he could not do what needed to be done to keep his sisters in his barely functional family in good spirits and from fighting each other, it fell to his most trusted sibling to do so in his place.  
And it sadly wasn't Luna or Leni, as Lincoln would have most believe.

Steadying her nerves and murmuring a silent prayer for she knew she wasn't the best at comforting people or understanding how others felt, Lana found her way to the room Lucy and Lynn shared and gently knocked with a trembling fist. She would never be able to see the black-haired poet in the same light again as completely ignorant of the danger, she was let into the room reluctantly by Lucy and began to ask what was wrong.

"You betrayed us. Lucy. All of us." Lana whispered to herself as she lay in her bed later that night as thunder and lightning struck the sky outside and rain clattered down upon the house so hard it felt as if the roof would give way any minute. "You took advantage of Lincoln when he trusted you, and then you sold him out."

A blinding flash of bright lightning stabbed her vision as she said those words, causing her to briefly tremble as she clutched her pillow.

"We all have our secrets Lucy that we don't want anybody to know about. But what you did to Lincoln, is unforgivable Lucy. Forgive me if I don't forgive you for a while."  
And from that day on, Lana had one less sibling to talk to when she had disappointed her twin Lola or Lola was in one of the bad moods from losing a beauty contest that came as often as older sister Lynn's tantrums when she lost a sport game.  
One less sibling to whom she could trust her issues or secrets with when she wasn't feeling her best or when a terrible nightmare woke her up in the middle of the night sweating all over.

One less sibling who she would consider sharing her next spare dairy land theme park ticket with if by some stroke of luck she were to win another two tickets at some other big competition in the distant unforeseeable future.  
The last time was during a beauty pageant which she very reluctantly took part in, moved by her brother's pleas and countless past favours he'd done for not just her but all his family.

With how the siblings were treating her brother these days, she seriously wondered if she might have any choice to make when it came to give away the next good thing she won at anything when there could be only one recipient other than herself.

There could be no good sleep that night for the tired six years old janitor as a haunting image of her brother Lincoln sobbing quietly in a corner of his room coming back to torment Lana every time she kept her eyes closed long enough to feel a little more relaxed.

…

Lana wanted to never think about any of the things that happened last week ever again.  
Even the happy family day out to the beach on Sunday evening didn't make the week any better when throughout the whole trip she had to keep her gaze away from the still depressed Lucy just to keep herself from boiling up with rage.

But there was in fact one good, perhaps even great thing that came from that sad fiasco which had all happened because of Lana's attempt to live up to her brother's saintly ways of caring for those around him and not being blind to the obvious. She had found one reason Lincoln could never find the happiness in his life that his sisters could.

And found herself another way to be useful.

…  
By keeping Lucy's secret fixation with the book series "Princess Pony" a complete secret from anyone who wasn't Lincoln as he already knew.  
It was a secret two people knew now and two was enough, cried Lucy as she pleaded desperately to her incredibly angry younger sister that evening not to let anyone else find out lest the long and difficult journey known as life become even harder and more painful for her.

She broke down more and more, at one point offering to give up every penny of her money if Lana would just keep her mouth shut and understand that even someone like Lucy needed a break from the darkness every now and again and that "Princess Pony" was the only thing keeping her from becoming a complete depressed emo.

Lana very nearly reached out to grab the generous heap consisting of thirteen dollars, and thirteen cents ($13.13) and her anger at Lucy's dishonesty only made the temptation to do just that even harder to resist.  
It was only the memory of Lincoln's kind words as he begged her to be herself again even if it meant throwing the beauty pageant and by extension their dairy land tickets, that brought the girl in the red cap and mud stained blue jeans and overalls to her senses again. Lincoln wasn't doing what he did for his family and friends for personal gain or profit and she knew that if she laid a finger on even one cent of Lucy's hard-earned cash, that even the devil himself if he existed would shake his head at her greed and stupidity.

" **I take no bribe** Lucy. And neither does my brother. I'm afraid I can't take that." Lana said to Lucy, her voice now gentle and apologetic despite the deadly anger that had been building inside her throughout their conversation together.  
A conversation that Lana had started in the hope of comforting a sister who as it turned out, did not deserve to be comforted but instead punished.

She swore that she saw a tear roll down from the usually stoic and almost expressionless mortician's black bangs, even as she finished the sentence.  
And as heart breaking as that was, Lana knew that what she was about to do was the best thing anyone who happened to own the rare thing called a moral compass could hope to do in this difficult situation.

"I don't like what you did Lucy. In fact, I don't think I can trust you anymore if what you've told me just now is actually true." Lana continued, managing through sheer will to keep her fury in check and her tone still soft and calm.  
"But I understand why you did what you did. And if your secret is really so important to you, then who am I to just take it away from you, especially since you're my sister and you've always been good to me when I needed it."

Lucy's sadness slowly changed to bewilderment as she quickly tried to pretend that she hadn't cried at all by dabbing at the tear with a shaking hand.

"I'll keep your secret Lucy. I promise that I won't tell the others about Princess Pony either. But that doesn't mean I forgive you Lucy. I'm sorry. But I think we should stop talking to each other for a while. I really think that." And with that, Lana weakly struggled to her feet and without looking back, walked downstairs to join the others at "Settlers of Catland". Whether Lucy came or not was her own business, but Lana certainly needed a good and friendly game to dull the pain of being lied to by a seemingly kind girl known for her integrity.

Lucy certainly didn't pack heat like Lynn Jr. Wasn't anywhere near as much a tattler or spoiled like Lola.  
Didn't boss everyone around like they were her slaves just because she thought something as irrelevant as age gave her that right like eldest sister Lori, who literally waltzed about the house making her siblings do literally back breaking things for her like she literally owned the place. And yet she'd proven to be the most venomous and slithery snake out of all of them with how badly she had treated a brother that only wanted to make her happy at any cost, as Lana had found out the hard way today.

…

The present day Lana sighed as she grabbed her packed school bag and with a deep sigh, trudged down the stairs with her family to get into Vanzilla, their family van.

She had asked if today she could sit beside her brother rather than next to Lola like she usually did.  
Sitting beside him gave her a great feeling of safety but mostly, she just wanted to make sure he was alright.

Last week had revealed one more horrible part as to the true reason her brother always liked to mumble his thoughts aloud to himself as if there was always someone with him even when he was alone in his room.  
One more part of the complete secret of why he never seemed particularly happy even when things occasionally went entirely his way. And it was now her duty to find out everything and help her brother from becoming the hollow and empty shell that became of those who gave away everything to get absolutely nothing in return.

She took one dirty glance at Lori, Lynn and Luan who were all sitting facing away from her on the seat in front of her.  
What dark secrets were they hiding behind their cheerful dispositions that they were not revealing for one selfish reason or another.  
Like a famous detective on one of her and Lola's favourite cartoons once said. "One truth prevails."

"Je suis le concierge, et Je sais tout." Lana silently said to herself as she quickly checked her brother to make sure he was still smiling and his body language still conveyed that he was feeling no discomfort as of yet today. French was never her best subject even if it was among her favorites, but this one phrase would be one she'd be using very often from now.

Dictionary: Je suis = I am  
Le concierge= The Janitor.  
Je sais= I know

Tout = all/everything

 **So here is one more chapter of events that happened in the past, long before Lola's sad mourning in the first chapter.  
Here, I'd like to thank you all for reading and supporting me and I'd like to give some of my own personal sentiments if you don't mind.  
I personally think Lana is a great but severely underused character, much like Fluttershy from MLP and Hinata from Naruto (If you even know those shows)**

 **I think she's a closer sister to Lincoln than Leni and Luna or Lily, contrary to most people's belief.  
The reason I say that is that though she's the same age as the much less mature and reasonable Lola (Who we all know Lincoln and a lot of the family fears) she's somehow a lot kinder.  
In other words she's well ahead for her age, and because she's much younger than Luna or Leni, she has plenty of time to improve even more.**

 **She also doesn't usually mistreat or sabotage Lincoln's plans, and usually only does anything bad to him when the entire family has turned against him as well.** **But that's enough stupid sentiments from me for now. Thank you all and see you in the next chapter if it is ever released.**


End file.
